Page of Schlsselfelder Ship by UNKNOWN MASTER, German in the Web Gallery of Art, a searchable image collection and database of European paintings and sculptures (1100-1850)

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Schlsselfelder Ship

1503
Partially gilded silver, height 79 cm
Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg

In the 16th century, like nobles, patricians and wealthy merchants commissioned sumptuous cups, dishes and table fountains. Goldsmiths were among the best-paid and most highly esteemed artists of the day, a status rarely accorded to them by modern art historians. In Nuremberg goldsmiths, unlike painters, were vital to the city's economic prosperity.

Goldsmiths' creations could be wonderfully inventive, like the Schlsselfelder Ship made for a Nuremberg patrician in 1503. The intricate, three-masted sailing ship balances on a siren or mermaid with two tails. Seventy-four surviving figurines enliven the vessel. The amazing detail of this ship is intended to impress the viewer, who might be a dinner guest. It is also a functional wine container with a capacity of 2,33 litre.